Nomi Sunrider and the Seven Younglings
by Daniel Fielder
Summary: To escape her jealous step-mother, Princess Ezri finds shelter in the home of seven orphans.
1. I'm Wishing

I was inspired to do this by Jsrashad's Snow White and the Seven Peanuts project.

Disclaimer: Snow White belongs to Disney, and Star Wars belongs to 20th century Fox, Warner Brothers, Disney, George Lucas, and JJ Abrams.

* * *

 **Nomi Sunrider and the Seven Younglings**

Chapter 1: I'm Wishing

Once upon a time, the queen of a humble but prosperous kingdom on Ambria was knitting by the window. She was knitting an outfit for her expected child.

"I cannot wait to tend to a baby." The queen said.

As the queen continued to knit, she pricked her finger, and a drop of red blood fell on a small banister she was sitting near that was studded with sapphires. She liked how it looked together.

"How lovely my child would be if she had eyes like sapphires, with blood-red hair."

Shortly after this wish, her daughter was born, but the queen used a good deal too much of her strength to bring the child into the world, so she only had enough strength to see that she was exactly how she dreamed she'd look and she named her Nomi. Shortly afterwards, the king died as well, and Nomi was raised by her father's second wife, now the Queen.

Nomi was lovely and full of life and laughter and very in tune with her emotions. Her step-mother Zannah, however, feared that one day, Nomi's beauty would surpass her own. Because of this, she usually dressed Nomi in rags except for very special occasions where she couldn't afford to without appearing weak to her allies. Despite this, Nomi still enjoyed life and dreamed of the day she'd find the man she would love.

Every day, Zannah went to a magic mirror she'd bought after her husband's death and asked, "Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of all?" And as long as the mirror replied that she was the fairest, Nomi would live for another day, safe from her step-mother's jealousy…

()()()()()

Zannah walked over to the mirror. It had been ten years since her husband's death when she ascended to the throne, and she enjoyed it immensely. It was time for her daily check to make sure she was still on top of the beauty game. She could tell sixteen years ago when she first met Nomi that she could not afford to let her subjects decide they liked Nomi better than her. They might overthrow her, leading to the Light Side ruling over Ambria rather than the Dark… Or worse, take her off their money!

She arrived at the mirror and raised her hands as she recited the incantation.

"Nadd, slave of the magic mirror, come from the farthest space." Zannah recited as she crossed her arms. "Through wind and darkness, I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face."

In a burst of flames, a face appeared, the face of Freedon Nadd. A sharp face with blank orb-like eyes. Nadd's eyes stared blankly at her.

"What wouldst thou know, my queen?" Nadd asked in his usual monotone voice.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall," Zannah recited. "Who is the fairest of them all?"

"Famed is thy beauty, majesty." Nadd responded as his eyes widened slightly. "But hold… A lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas, she is more fair than thee."

"Alas for _her_!" Zannah spat out as her eyes glowed yellow. "What's her name?!"

"Hair red as the rose." The face responded calmly. "Eyes blue as sapphires."

"Nomi!" Zannah said through her teeth as her eyes glowed ever brighter.

()()()()()

Nomi was washing the stairs of the palace as she hummed to herself. She was almost done, and she was happy for her good life. True she had to work every day, but it had helped keep her strong, and she knew that when she got married, she'd be able to have a family again. She had missed that part of her life when she had a father _and_ a mother. She had made friends with all the other ambassadors that lived on the planet.

She finished the stairs and sighed contentedly as she picked up the pail and prepared to put it back in the well as several doves watched her. She put the pail in and looked at them.

"Wanna hear a secret?" Nomi asked.

The doves nodded. Nomi had a way with animals. They were her closest friends here.

"Promise not to tell?" Nomi asked again, and the doves shook their heads.

" _We are standing by a wishing well._ "

Nomi then pointed at the hole in the well.

 _Make a wish into the well,_

 _That's all you have to do._

 _And if you hear it echoing,_

 _Your wish will soon come true._

Nomi then put her head near the well.

 _I'm wishing… (I'm wishing…)_

 _For the one I love,_

 _To find me… (To find me…)_

 _Today. (Today.)_

 _I'm hoping… (I'm hoping…)_

 _And I'm dreaming of,_

 _The nice things… (The nice things…)_

 _He'll say. (He'll say.)_

Had Nomi known it, that day, a person from the Republic planet, Darada, was passing by the palace when he heard Nomi singing. His name was Andur, and he had been on a training mission with his Jedi master, Thon. Andur thought it was the nicest, sweetest voice he'd ever heard and hopped over the wall to see who it was and saw a girl, the prettiest one he'd ever seen, and her kind nature, which he could easily see on her face in the way her eyes looked in conjunction with her mouth's movements, only made her more beautiful.

Nomi continued singing as the well echoed back.

 _Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha. (Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha.)_

 _Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha. (Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha.)_

 _Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha. (Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha.)_

 _Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!_

 _I'm wishing… (I'm wishing…)_

 _For the one I love,_

 _To find me… (To find me…)_

 _Today._

" _Today!_ " Andur sang out as he appeared next to Nomi.

"Oh!" Nomi exclaimed as she jumped back. The boy had caught her by surprise.

"Hello." The boy said. "My name is Andur. I didn't frighten you, did I?"

Nomi ran off as she didn't want someone she'd just met to see her in her work clothes.

"Wait." Andur called out. "Wait please! Don't run away."

Nomi ran into the castle, but Andur called out.

 _Now that I've found you,_

 _Hear what I have to say!_

Nomi then walked out against her first instinct and listened.

 _One song, I have but one song._

 _One song, only for you._

Nomi swooned and tidied herself up as best as she could.

 _One heart, steadily beating._

 _Constant and true!_

Nomi looked down and found herself falling in love with him as he fell in love with her.

 _One love that has possessed me._

 _One love, brimming with truth._

 _One song, my hear keeps singing._

 _Of one love, only for you._

Nomi smiled and came down as she kissed Andur gently on his cheek.

"I'm Nomi." Nomi said. "I hope that I see you again."

"Me too." Andur said. He kissed her hand and went off.

()()()()()

Unknown to either lover, Zannah watched from a high up window and scowled. Nomi would pay for putting her at number two.

* * *

Well… This idea just came with me, so I went with it. Please tell me what ya think.


	2. With a Smile and a Song

Chapter Two: With a Smile and a Song

Shortly after Nomi met Andur, Zannah was talking to the Mandalorian ambassador, Canderous Ordo, who had sworn to serve her as part of a pact she made to help the Mandalorians.

"Take her far into the forests of Endor." Zannah said. "Find a nice secluded place where she can pick wild flowers."

"Yes your majesty." Ordo said.

"And there, my faithful friend, you will _kill_ her." Zannah said with a mad glint in her eyes.

"But your majesty, the little princess-" Ordo argued before Zannah stood up, and her eyes glowed yellow.

"SILENCE!" Zannah ordered. "You know the penalty if you fail."

The penalty would be that Ordo's family would all be executed, and Ordo would be forced to watch.

"Yes… Your majesty…" Ordo said in a defeated voice.

"And just to make sure that you don't fail, bring back her heart in this." Zannah pulled out a red box with golden trim. The lock was a golden heart with a golden dagger cutting into it.

()()()()()

A few days later, Ordo took Nomi to Endor. Nomi was walking through a forest that she had never been to, and she was excited about all the lovely flowers there. She also hoped that she'd meet Andur there before she had to go back home.

 _One song, I have but one song._

 _One song, only for you._

She hummed the song he sang to her, their song, to herself as she picked as many wild flowers as she could carry. Suddenly, she saw a small blue bird chirping not far off.

"Oh hello there." Nomi said as she turned to the baby bird. "What's the matter?"

The bird chirped fearfully, and Nomi recognized it as the fears of a lost child.

"Where are your mother and father? Are you lost?" Nomi asked, and the bird began to cry. "Oh, please don't cry. Come on, cheer up. Won't you smile for me?"

The bird chirped happily.

"That's better." Nomi said encouragingly. "Your mother and father can't be far away. Oh, there they are. Good-bye little one. Good-bye."

The bird flew off to his parents as Nomi smiled.

()()()()()

Ordo meanwhile, pulled out his vibroblade and held it loosely as he walked to Nomi. Just after Nomi helped the bird find his parents, Ordo raised his blade as Nomi turned around and screamed. She prepared to defend herself as best she could against the blade, but she knew that it was no use when Ordo dropped his vibroblade.

"I can't." Ordo said. "I can't do it. Forgive me, your highness. I beg you."

Ordo fell to his knees and bowed his head.

"I don't understand." Nomi said in a confused voice.

"She's mad." Ordo said. "Jealous of you! She'll stop at nothing!"

"Who?" Nomi asked.

"The queen!" Ordo said.

"The queen?" Nomi said. How could her step-mother do such a terrible thing?

"Run for it, child!" Ordo said. "Run! Go away and hide in the woods! Anywhere, just never come back! Go!" Nomi still stood there nervously. "GO!"

Nomi rushed off into the forest as Ordo picked up his vibroblade and walked to a nearby wild boar. He'd give the queen something alright.

()()()()()

Nomi ran into the woods, and in her panicked state, every tree seemed to have eyes, and their branches were clawed hands trying to reach out and grab her! She eventually fell down into a pond, and when she got up, she saw two logs that seemed to be alligators and ran out where she was surrounded by frightening trees that starred at her darkly before she screamed and fell crying. It was all over.

()()()()()

As she cried, she realized something, no one was attacking her. She looked up to find that it was still daylight, and the eyes were simply the animals of the forest. She even noticed the squirrels, the dear, and the birds. When a rabbit came up to her, she startled at the creature rubbing its nose next to her face, and they scattered.

"Oh, don't go away." Nomi said as she felt her confidence return. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just surprised. I was very frightened, and all because I was afraid of things that weren't really scary. I'm so ashamed over the fuss that I have made. What do you do when things go wrong?"

The birds tweeted.

"Ooh!" Nomi said happily. "You sing a song!"

The birds chirped a yes.

" _Ah-ha-ha, ha, ha._ " Nomi sang, and the baby bird she'd helped before sang along.

 _Ah-ha-ha, ha, ha._

 _Ahhh… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha._

The bird tried to follow along again, but he failed to hit Nomi's high notes, but Nomi just chuckled happily.

 _With a smile and a song,_

 _Life is just like a bright sunny day._

 _Your cares fade away._

 _And your heart is young._

 _With a smile and a song,_

 _All the world seems to waken anew,_

 _Rejoices with you._

 _As the sung is sung._

More animals came out to listen to Nomi's singing. A chipmunk came up and rested on Lana's lap.

 _There's no use in grumbling_

 _When raindrops come tumbling._

 _Remember, you're the one_

 _Who can fill the world with sunshine._

She then petted a faun that had come up, and the rabbit who had come up to her before laid his head down on her legs.

 _When you smile and you sing,_

 _Everything is in tune and it's spring_

 _And life flows along,_

 _With a smile and a song._

The animals then all cheered, and Nomi felt that maybe things would not be so bad for her now.

* * *

That was fun.


	3. Whistle While You Work

Chapter Three: Whistle While You Work

"I really feel quite happy now." Nomi said with a smile. "I'm sure I'll get along somehow. Everything's going to be alright… But I do need a place to sleep at night."

She petted the bunny by her leg.

"I can't sleep in the ground like you." Nomi said. She then looked at the squirrels. "Or in a tree like you do, and I'm sure I could never fit in a bird's nest." Then she got a brilliant idea! "Maybe you know where I could stay in these woods!"

The birds and other animals all made their respective ways of saying yes.

"You do?!" Nomi said with a smile. She wasn't sure if that would really work. "Will you take me there?"

The birds and dear then led Nomi to a small cabin. When she saw the cabin, she noticed that it looked quite modest.

"Oh it's adorable!" Nomi said in delight. "It looks just like a doll house!"

Nomi then walked up to the house.

"I like it here." Nomi then looked into the window, but she couldn't make out anything inside. "It's dark in there."

Nomi then knocked. Nothing happened. Maybe no one heard her. She knocked again, but there still wasn't an answer.

"Well, I guess there's nothing for it." Nomi said as she tested the door knob and found it unlocked. "Oh."

She went in with the animals.

"Hello?" Nomi called out. No one answered. "I guess no one is being home."

Nomi walked around and figured that she could just stay and wait for the people to come home. She noticed several toys on the ground and thought, _Maybe I could be their nanny and take care of their child… Or children._

Nomi then squealed with delight as she saw a small chair. She looked down at it as the animals came in too.

"What a cute little chair!" Nomi said. She then noticed that there were several more. "Wait a moment, there are seven little chairs. There must be seven little children here." She then looked at a very messy table with cups, plates, and all manner of left over garbage on the table. "And from the look of the table seven untidy little children."

She walked over and saw what was on there.

"Toys at the table." Nomi said as she picked up a toy speeder for a ten-year-old to play with. She then saw a sock. "A sock too?!" Nomi then opened a pot and took out, "A shoe?"

Nomi whistled with the birds. She then walked to the fire place.

"Covered in dust, of course." Nomi blew, and several chipmunks sneezed. "And cobwebs everywhere. A pile of dirty dishes in the sink, and just look at that broom!"

The broom laid there as if it hadn't ever been used.

"I doubt they've ever swept this room." Nomi said. "You'd think their mother would-" Then she stopped as she realized something. "Maybe they don't have a mother. Then they'd be orphans. Oh, those poor little children. Maybe we should clean the house, and surprise them when they come back from… Whatever they're doing… Then maybe they will let me stay."

Nomi then looked around, and her new friends did as well.

"Alright, squirrels, you wash the dishes." Nomi said. "And rabbits, tidy up the room. Deer, clean the fireplace, and I'll use the broom."

The birds then whistled to commence the large project Lana had suggested.

 _Just whistle while you work._

 _And cheerfully together we can tidy up this place._

 _So hum a merry tune._

 _It won't take long when there's a song to help us set the pace._

The singing actually did keep everyone lively enough to keep on track. Nomi was easily sweeping the room and standing on chairs to deal with the cobwebs. The squirrels used rags and their own tails to wash the dishes, and the dear used their tails to dust the fireplace, and the stags used their antlers to help the smaller animals make Starfire's job easier by dusting the walls and everywhere they could reach.

 _And as you sweep the room_

 _Imagine that the broom is someone that you love_

 _And soon you'll find you're dancing to the tune._

"Oh, no, no." Nomi said as one of the fauns was trying to clean a plate by licking it. "Those go in the tub."

Nomi then handed a plate to the squirrel, and he put it there.

"Why don't you help your parents?" Nomi asked.

The dear smiled and cleaned the fire place with his mother.

As a rabbit was pushing dirt under the rug, Nomi caught them.

"Nah-uh." Nomi said kindly but firmly. "Pushing dirt under a rug isn't cleaning."

The rabbits then moved the rub and pushed the dirt out of the house.

"Yes, that's much better." Nomi said with a smile as she scratched behind the rabbit's ear.

Nomi and a few of the squirrels then got to work cleaning a large organ. She figured she could learn to play it for the children. The birds then brought in flowers to liven up the room and used a pouch they'd brought to water the flowers.

With the house cleaned up, everyone then helped put away the clothes and the toys. As the toys were put away, the stag helped Lana take the clothes she couldn't carry, which wasn't very much, and she and several raccoons began washing the clothes, and Nomi hung them to dry. She noticed that they were very odd clothes. All of them were Jedi robes designed for ten-year-olds. She shrugged and guessed that they had a range of different tastes in clothing.

 _So whistle while you work._

After finishing cleaning, Nomi relaxed by the wall and found a book entitled, _The Magician's Nephew_ by CS Lewis.

* * *

Is there anything Disney animals can't do?


	4. Heigh-Ho

Chapter 4: Heigh-Ho

In a cave deep in the mountains, seven Jedi Younglings were working to get some precious stones to be able to survive in the world. Their ship crashed, and trapped on the world, they mined precious stones to trade food with the neighboring Ewok tribes.

The leaders were ten-year-old children named Anakin Skywalker, A'Sharad Hett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Qui-Gon Jinn. Right under them was a nine-year-old known as Kanan Jarrus and an eight-year-old named Ahsoka Tano. At the bottom of the chain of command was a seven-year-old named Ezra Bridger. To make things go by quicker, and to stop Ezra from complaining, they sang a work song, which only Anakin objected to.

 _We dig-dig-dig-dig-dig-dig-dig_

 _In our mine the whole day through._

 _To dig-dig-dig-dig-dig-dig-dig_

 _Is what we have to do._

" _It's not a trick._ " A'Sharad said as he used his training saber to easily cut through the walls. " _You get rich quick._ "

" _If you dig-dig-dig with a shovel or a pick._ " Anakin said as he dug out a diamond the size of Bail Organa's brain.

" _In a mine._ " Kanan said as his echo repeated, " _In a mine._ "

" _In a mine!_ " Obi-Wan repeated as she liked the way the echo sounded. " _In a mine!_ "

 _Where a million diamonds…_

 _Shine!_

As they blinked in wonder, Ahsoka was driving a cart with the Force while she was reading a book called _The Once and Future King_.

 _We dig-dig-dig-dig-dig-dig-dig_

 _From morning until night._

Ahsoka saw a fly buzzing around and smashed him.

 _We dig-dig-dig-dig-dig-dig-dig_

 _Up everything in sight._

Ahsoka then dropped the diamonds in front of Qui-Gon, who used a hammer to see how good the diamonds were. If they weren't good, he'd toss them on the floor.

 _We dig up diamonds by the score._

 _Diamonds rubies sometimes more._

 _And we're not sure what we dig them for._

 _We dig-dig-diggity-dig._

Ezra's job was to sweep up the rejects and throw them in a landfill. As he watched Jim observe a very large diamond, he picked up two of them. A few minutes later, he tugged on Qui-Gon's sleeve, and he turned around to see Ezra with the diamonds in his eyes. Qui-Gon then knocked the diamonds out with a slight thump on the head.

Qui-Gon then looked at the clock to see that it was already five in the afternoon.

" _Heigh-ho!_ " Qui-Gon called as a way to sound the end of the day.

" _Heigh-ho!_ " Everyone called back to show they heard. They then headed back home.

 _Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!_

They then walked off with about three diamonds each to tide them over for a while.

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _It's home from work we go._

The rest of the diamonds were then put into a safe as Ezra put the key in his pocket to keep safe until the next day.

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _It's home from work we go._

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _Heigh-ho, hum._

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _It's home from work we go._

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _Heigh-ho,_

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _It's home from work we go._

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _Heigh-ho,_

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _It's home from work we go._

 _Heigh-ho, heigh-ho._

 _Heigh-ho, heigh-ho._

 _Heigh-ho._

Yeah, that's what I'm using for the dwarves. Deal with it.

* * *

No flaming if you don't like it by the way.


	5. Meeting Nomi

Chapter 5: Meeting Nomi

As night fell, the animals returned to their home except for a few birds and the family of deer.

"Let's see what's upstairs." Nomi said, and she went up to find a bedroom with seven beds. "Oh what adorable beds, and they have their names carved on them." Nomi then proceeded to read the names. "'Qui-Gon' 'Obi-Wan' 'A'Sharad' 'Ezra'" Nomi giggled good-naturedly. "What funny names for children. 'Anakin', 'Kanan', and 'Ahsoka'." Nomi then yawned. "I better hit the hay."

Nomi then laid down across Obi-Wan, A'Sharad, and Ezra's beds as the deer went to sleep on the floor. The birds then put the candle out with their tails and covered Nomi up before flying down stairs.

Suddenly, the deer were awakened by the sounds of people coming, and they returned to the forest for fear of being attacked by the cottage's inhabitants.

()()()()()

The group returned home as Qui-Gon led the way with a flashlight.

"Look!" Qui-Gon suddenly said as he stopped abruptly and everyone slammed into him. "Our house. The light's lit!"

Everyone then snuck to the side and looked at the house.

"Jiminy Cricket." Ezra said in a low whisper as he looked.

"The door's open." Qui-Gon pointed out as light was coming through the doorway.

"Looks like smokes coming from the chimney." Kanan said.

"Something's in there." A'Sharad remarked.

"You don't think it's someone bad, do you?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Could be anything." Kanan said.

"Either way, something's up." Anakin said. "We better approach it carefully."

"How?" Ezra asked.

"Let's sneak up on it." Obi-Wan said.

"Right." Qui-Gon said. "Follow me."

They nervously snuck to the house and went inside. Qui-Gon slowly opened the door which appeared to creek louder than it normally did, but they just put that off to nerves. They then tip-toed in as Ezra slammed the door shut.

"SHH!" They all hissed at Ezra.

"SHH!" Ezra hissed at the door.

"We better search every nook and cranny." Qui-Gon said.

"Yeah, and we should search everywhere too." Ezra said, which earned him a slap from Anakin.

"Ouch!" Ezra exclaimed.

"Guys, be quiet." Anakin hissed.

As Qui-Gon, A'Sharad, and Ahsoka checked one area of the house, Qui-Gon looked down and gasped.

"Look at the floor!" Qui-Gon called out in surprise. "It's been swept!"

"Who in the galaxy would break into a house to sweep a floor?" Ahsoka asked incredulously.

Anakin rubbed a finger against one of the chairs at the table and looked.

"The chair's been dusted." He observed.

"The windows are all washed." Obi-Wan stated.

"No cobwebs anywhere." Kanan stated.

"The whole place is cleaner than an operating room." Qui-Gon said in surprise.

"Someone's definitely been in here." Anakin said. "We're lucky if we manage to clean the place once a week, and we never get it this clean. There's dirty work a foot."

"The sink's empty." A'Sharad said as he looked inside with Ahsoka. "Guys, someone stole our dishes."

"No they didn't!" Obi-Wan said exasperatedly. "They just cleaned them and put them in the cupboard."

"Hey, they washed my cup!" Kanan groaned as he ran his finger around it. "No more sugar!"

"Good." Ahsoka said. "The last thing we need is you all hopped up on sugar again."

Obi-Wan and Ezra approached a bubbling pot.

"Something's cooking in there." Obi-Wan said as she sniffed. "And it smells pretty good."

Obi-Wan made to grab a ladle when Anakin grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

"Are you stupid?!" Anakin asked. "That could be poison!"

As if on cue, the pot hissed.

"AHH!" Ezra exclaimed.

"Why do I bother?" Anakin said.

Qui-Gon then drew everyone's attention to the table.

"Look what happened to the table!" Qui-Gon said as Kanan picked up some golden rods that were there.

"Hey cool, flowers." Kanan said. "Look at this A'Sharad, golden rods."

"Oh no!" A'Sharad said as his nose began to get stuffed up. "My nose, I've had hay fever for the last few weeks! You know I can't stand it, Kanan! I ca- I coo- I c-"

"HIT THE DECK!" Anakin called out. As Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka ducked, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon held their fingers to his nose.

"Phew." Kanan said. "Thanks guys… AH CHOO!"

The other six were then blown into the wall.

"By the Force!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

"A very fine time you picked to sneeze!" Anakin whispered angrily at A'Sharad, his best friend.

"I couldn't help it!" A'Sharad whispered back. "When you've gotta, you've gotta… Uh-oh. I've gotta again.

"GRAB HIM!" Anakin called out. They pounced on A'Sharad and tied a handkerchief around his nose, which served to muffle his sneeze.

"Thanks." A'Sharad said.

"We've gotta keep quiet." Anakin said. "We could all end up messing with whatever's in here if we're not careful."

They then heard an odd sound from upstairs.

"Whatever's in here is up there." Qui-Gon said.

"In the bedrooms." Obi-Wan said.

"Uh-oh." Ezra exclaimed.

"Someone's gotta go up and chase whatever's up there down." Qui-Gon said.

They all nodded their heads, and six of them looked at Ezra as he looked behind him before remembering that there were only seven of them.

"Me?" Ezra asked in a squeaky whisper.

Ezra tried to creep off before he was grabbed by Anakin and A'Sharad. They then pulled him in front of Qui-Gon as he held up a flash light that he'd turned on and was shaking as bad as Ezra.

"Here." Qui-Gon said nervously. "Take it. Don't be nervous."

Qui-Gon then mustered his own courage and put the flash light in Ezra's hand and shoved him up the stairs. At the landed outside of the bedrooms, Ezra turned around to look at the others several steps below him.

"Don't be afraid." Qui-Gon said. "We're right behind you."

"Yeah." They all said. "Right behind you."

"Mm." Ezra said nervously as he walked up and entered the bed room. In the light of the flash light, Ezra saw something groan sleepily as it stretched underneath several sheets.

"AHHHHH!" Ezra called out and ran down the stairs.

"Here it comes!" Anakin said as he got an attack ready before they were all bowled over by something, and they ran straight out of the door. Ezra then tried to follow, but the door wouldn't open.

"It's trying to get out!" Qui-Gon screamed!

"Don't let it out!" Anakin said calmly.

"Hold it shut!" A'Sharad added.

This added greatly to Ezra's fears that the creature and woken up. He didn't dare look behind him and tried harder to open the door until the door knob broke off, and Ezra fell into several pots and pans that landed all over him. Now sure that the creature had woken up, he ran for his life right out the door. This was the scariest night of his life!

()()()()()

Outside the cottage, everyone waited in the trees for the creature, whatever it was, to attack. They pounced down on what appeared to be some kind of metal creature and kept attacking until Qui-Gon realized something.

"Hold on guys!" Qui-Gon shouted. "It's only Ezra."

"Yeah, it's only-D'oh!" Ezra exclaimed as Anakin hit him again with his stick. "What was that for?!"

"Scaring me for no good reason!" Anakin retorted.

"Did you see it?" A'Sharad asked?

"Yeah!" Ezra said panting.

"How big is it?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Huge!"

"What was it?" Anakin asked.

"A dragon!" Ezra said as the creature was large enough to be.

"Has it got horns?" A'Sharad asked.

"Yeah!"

"Was it breathing fire?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Yeah!" Ezra said.

"Was it drooling?" Kanan asked.

"Yeah!" Ezra said.

"Stop saying yeah and tell us what it was doing!" Anakin shouted.

"It was sleeping." Ezra said.

"A monster's asleep in our beds?!" Qui-Gon exclaimed.

"Let's get it while it's sleeping." Anakin proposed.

"Good idea." Obi-Wan said.

"Let's go!" A'Sharad proclaimed and they went off.

They made it back to the bedroom and opened the door to see the thing yawning again, and it was covering A'Sharad, Obi-Wan, and Ezra's beds.

"By the Force!" A'Sharad exclaimed.

"Heaven above!" Obi-Wan added.

"What a monster." A'Sharad said.

"No kidding." Kanan replied. "It's covering three beds."

"Let's get it before it wakes up!" Qui-Gon whispered.

"Which end do we get?" Obi-Wan asked, but everyone shushed her.

They then surrounded the creature and prepared to fight when Qui-Gon lifted the sheet, and they all stopped.

It wasn't a monster. It was a very lovely girl. With red hair, and she was in green robes.

"Whoa!" Qui-Gon exclaimed.

"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked.

"It's a girl." Qui-Gon said.

"She's really pretty." A'Sharad said.

"She looks like an angel." Kanan said.

"Angel?" Anakin said. "She's a stranger. What would someone like her be doing here?"

"Shh!" Qui-Gon said. "You'll wake her up."

"Let her wake up then." Anakin said. "She's trespassing."

"Hey, she's moving!" A'Sharad said nervously.

"She's waking up!" Obi-Wan said.

"What do we do?!" A'Sharad asked.

"Hide!" Qui-Gon said, and they ducked down as the girl yawned and got up.

()()()()()

"Oh my…" Nomi said with a yawn as she got up. "Just what I needed. I wonder if the children are-"

Nomi then looked down and gasped in pleasant surprise as she saw the children.

"Oh you're so cute." Nomi said like a babysitter. The children then stood up, and she saw that they were in several outfits. Maybe they were play acting. "How are you?" Nomi asked, but none of them answered. "I said 'How are you?'"

"How are we what?" Said a boy dressed in dark brown robes.

"Oh you can talk!" Nomi said excitedly. "I'm so glad!"

"Now do not tell me who you are, let me guess." Nomi said. "Now you…" She said as she looked at a boy in a lighter set of robes. "You're… Qui-Gon."

"Oh, yes." Qui-Gon said with a nervous smile.

Nomi then looked at a dark skinned boy who appeared to be in the same outfit as Qui-Gon.

"You are Kanan." Nomi said.

"Y-yeah." Kanan said as he blushed.

"And you…" Nomi said as she looked at a Togruta girl with in tight brown robes. "You're… Ahsoka?"

"How'd you guess?" Ahsoka asked.

"I just kinda took a stab at it." Nomi said. She then turned to a boy in brown robes with angular tattoos on his face. "And you're A'Sharad."

"Yes." A'Sharad said as he raised his eyebrow.

"And you're…" Nomi said as she turned to a boy with auburn hair and blue eyes.

"Obi-Wan, ma'am." Obi-Wan said. "And this is Ezra."

"Hi." Ezra said nervously.

"Don't worry, he's shy around strangers." Obi-Wan explained.

"Oh, that is too bad." Nomi said as she smiled, and Ezra smiled nervously as well. She then turned to the last boy. He folded her arms moodily.

"Oh…" Nomi said deepening her voice to try and get the girl to smile. "You must be Anakin."

"She's good at this." Qui-Gon said.

"We know who we are." Anakin said shortly. "What we don't know is who _you_ are and what _you're_ doing here."

"Oh how silly of me." Nomi said as she blushed. "I am Nomi Sunrider."

"Nomi?!" Everyone asked. "The princess?!"

"Yeah." Nomi said with a smile.

"Well your highness." Qui-Gon said respectively. "We're honored hosts. We're… Uh…"

"Mad as hornets!" Anakin interrupted.

"Mad as hornets!" Qui-Gon said before shaking his head.

"Wait, no we're not." Qui-Gon said. "Ah, what was I saying?!"

"Nothing, just sputtering like an idiot as usual!" Anakin said.

"Hey who's sputtering like an idiot?!" Qui-Gon asked angrily.

"That's enough you two." A'Sharad said as he rushed between the two.

"I say we tell her to get out." Anakin said.

"Please don't send me away." Nomi pleaded. "If you do, she'll kill me."

"Kill you?" A'Sharad asked.

"Who?" Qui-Gon asked.

"My step-mother Queen Zannah." Nomi stated.

"Zannah?!" Everyone asked.

"She's wicked!" Kanan said.

"She's bad!" Obi-Wan agreed.

"She's fierce!" A'Sharad added.

"She's a vain and power-hungry witch." Anakin said calmly. "I'm warning all of you. If Zannah finds out she's here on this planet, she'll tear the whole place apart just because of Nomi being here."

"But she doesn't even know where I am." Nomi said.

"Oh yeah?" Anakin asked. "Well from all the stories I've heard, she has enough black magic to easily figure out where someone is, and it doesn't take magic to make someone invisible. For all we know she's in this room right now."

"Oh my god!" Ezra said before he looked down Obi-Wan's shirt to look for Zannah, and Obi-Wan punched him in the face.

"Oh she'd never find me here." Nomi said cheerfully. "And if you let me stay, I'll do the cleaning for you. I can wash, sow, sweep, cook-"

"COOK?!" Everyone said at the same time as they were tired of Anakin and Obi-Wan buying them cereal from some town.

"Can you make apple dumplings?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Yes." Nomi said. "And plum pudding, and goose berry pie-"

"GOOSE BERRY PIE?!" Everyone called out. "Hooray! She stays!"

Anakin rubbed his temples. He didn't think any good would come out of this.

* * *

Well Anakin' trusting, isn't he?


	6. Washing Up Before Supper

Chapter 6: Washing Up Before Supper

All the talk about cooking reminded Nomi about the pot she'd put on the stove. She flew down and opened it up as she took a sip of what she was making.

The seven children then walked out and sniffed.

"SOUP!" They called out and rushed down. They then sat down and fought over the bread, except Ezra, who was fighting to try and get a seat.

"Uh-uh-uh." Nomi said, before anyone could have a bite. "Wait a moment. Supper's not quite ready yet, so you'll have just enough time to wash."

"Wash?" Everyone asked. They'd only washed about once a week as that seemed enough.

"I knew there was a catch." Anakin muttered.

"Why do we have to wash?" Kanan asked the gang in low voices, so Nomi wouldn't hear.

"We're not going anywhere." Ahsoka said.

"It's not New Year or Christmas." Qui-Gon agreed.

"Oh, have you washed already?" Nomi asked.

"Uh… Yes." Qui-Gon said.

"Okay, when?" Nomi asked with her hands on her hips.

"When?" Qui-Gon asked. "When? Um… Last week, no month, no I mean… Recently."

"Yes." They all said. "Recently."

"Oh, recently." Nomi said with a coy smile. "Then let me see your hands."

They all gulped and held their hands behind their backs.

"Let me see your hands." Nomi said firmly as if she was their mother.

Qui-Gon sighed and showed fairly dirty hands.

"Why Qui-Gon." Nomi said. "I'm surprised at you."

"Ah… Well…" Qui-Gon said nervously.

"Come on, let's see them." Nomi said, and Kanan showed fairly dirty hands.

"Oh Kanan." Nomi sighed. "And you, A'Sharad?"

A'Sharad then showed his hands to be among the dirtiest ones so far.

"Tch, tch, tch." Nomi said.

Before she got to him, Obi-Wan rubbed his hands against his pants and showed them to her, sure that it would work.

"It's worse than I thought." Nomi said as she looked at Obi-Wan's _extra_ dirty hands.

Ezra eagerly showed her his hands, and they were, maybe the cleanest, but still very dirty.

Ahsoka then showed her hands, and for someone who spent most of their day pulling a cart, it was hard to believe how dirty they'd gotten.

"How shocking!" Nomi exclaimed before Ahsoka looked down and hid her hands behind her back. "This'll never do. Now you kids go straight outside and wash, or you will not get a bite to eat."

"Let's go." Qui-Gon said dejectedly.

Everyone except Anakin left, with Ezra slamming into wall because he was looking more at Nomi.

"Well," Nomi asked. "Aren't you going to wash?"

Anakin just turned his head away. Who did she think she was, his mother? She was only a few years older than him.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Nomi asked with a smile, and Anakin just walked out to get away from her for a few minutes.

He then ended up slamming his face into a door.

"Oh, did you hurt yourself?" Nomi asked, but Anakin just kept walking until he was out of the house. "Women!" He muttered.

()()()()()

"Okay guys, courage." Qui-Gon said. "Don't be nervous."

"Are we really gonna do this?" Kanan asked.

"Well, it'll please Nomi." Qui-Gon said.

"I'm sure she has our best interests at heart." Obi-Wan said.

"Me too." Everyone else agreed.

"I'm telling you guys," Anakin said. "Give that girl an inch, and she'll walk all over you."

"Ah, don't listen to that sour puss." Qui-Gon said dismissively. "Come on, guys."

"How hard should we scrub?" A'Sharad asked.

"Will our fingers shrink?" Ahsoka asked with a yawn.

"Should we get in the tub?" Ezra asked.

"Should we wash where it doesn't show?" Kanan asked.

"Now don't get excited, here we go." Qui-Gon explained.

 _Step up to the tub._

 _It's not a disgrace._

 _Just pull up your sleeves,_

 _And get 'em in place._

 _Then scoop up the water,_

 _And rub it on your face,_

 _And go, blurb, blurb, blurb!_

Qui-Gon went first to demonstrate, and everyone else did as he did.

 _Pick up the soap,_

 _Now don't try to bluff._

 _Work up a lather,_

 _And when you get enough,_

 _Get a handful of water._

 _You snout and you snout,_

 _And so, blurb, blurb, blurb._

 _Get doused and soused._

 _Rub and scrub._

 _Splutter and splash all over the tub._

 _You may be cold and wet when you're done,_

 _But you've gotta admit, it's gonna be fun._

A fly came around Ahsoka and she tricked it into going onto the soap where it ended up looking like Santa clause because of the suds.

 _So splash with all your might._

 _It's not any trick._

 _As soon as you're through,_

 _You'll feel mighty slick._

" _You bunch of nanny goats make me sick going, blurb, blurb, blurb!"_ Anakin stated.

They then washed up their hair after washing their hands and faces as they figured they should do it right, but they'd save a proper bath for tomorrow evening.

"Next thing you know, she'll be having us dress up in sailor outfits or pink dresses, as the case may be, and squirt us all with that perfume stuff." Anakin said.

"I don't mind wearing pink." Ahsoka said.

"Oh don't listen to Anakin." Obi-Wan said. "He's just being a big grump."

Ezra then spat out all the water he'd accidentally swallowed.

"A nice group of water-lilies you guys turned out to be." Anakin said with a smirk as Qui-Gon looked up. "I'd like to see anybody make me wash if I didn't wanna."

Qui-Gon then smiled mischievously as he whispered to the others. They all smiled and walked up to Anakin as they whistled.

"GET HIM!" Qui-Gon shouted out, and they all held Anakin up as A'Sharad, Obi-Wan, Kanan, and Qui-Gon held his limbs, so he couldn't get away.

"Hey let me go!" Anakin called out.

"Ezra, set the soap." Qui-Gon said.

"Okay!" Ezra said as he ran off. He grabbed the soap and was about to bring it when it slipped out of his hand, and he tried to catch it before it knocked him in the head. He then tried to pounce on it, but it just slipped and went into his mouth. "Oh man!" Ezra called out. "And I didn't even say anything bad!"

He then hiccupped as several soap bubbles popped up.

Meanwhile, everyone else was giving Anakin a nice hands and face washing.

 _Now scrub good and hard._

 _It can't be denied,_

 _That he'll look might cool,_

 _As soon as he's dried._

 _With a scrap and a howl,_

 _And a blurb, blurb, blurb!_

Anakin was then let out as everyone laughed.

"He smells like a petunia." A'Sharad said with a laugh that was shared with everyone else.

"You sure look cute, Anakin!" Obi-Wan teased.

"Oh, you're all gonna pay for this!" Anakin shouted.

"Supper!" Nomi called out from the house.

"Supper!" They all called out and ran off, leaving Anakin woozy by the tub.

"Eh." Anakin said after a while and walked in.

()()()()()

Zannah walked back to the mirror that very night as Canderous gave her the box with her heart in it.

"Oh mirror, mirror, on the wall, who _now_ is the fairest one of all?" Zannah asked with a smug smile.

"Far off on the planet Endor, beyond the Seventh Fall, in the cottage of the seven Younglings dwells Nomi Sunrider. The fairest one of all." Nadd said.

"Nomi's dead in a forest." Zannah said with a smirk. "Canderous Ordo had brought me proof." Zannah opened the box and showed it to the mirror. "Behold, her heart."

"Nomi still lives, the fairest in the land." Nadd insisted. "It's the heart of a pig you hold in your hands."

"The heart of a pig?!" Zannah shouted as she threw the box down. "That fool tricked me!"

Zannah then walked down a secret flight of stairs to her lab as her apprentice, Darth Cognus waited.

"Whoa, who spit in your caviar?" Cognus asked.

"Silence!" Zannah said. "That sentimental fool gave me the heart of a pig instead of Nomi's! Looks like if I want someone killed around here, I'll have to do it myself! I'll go to the brats' cottage in such a perfect disguise that no one will ever suspect it's me."

"How perfect?" Cognus asked.

"Sith Alchemy." Zannah said as she took a book labeled _Disguises_. "A potion to turn my beauty into a grimace. To change my queenly array into a peddler's cloak."

Zannah found a perfect little recipe. It also had a 72 hour limit, which would give her time to make a perfect way to kill Nomi, and she'd just turn back to her beautiful self afterwards.

"Mummy dust, to make me old." Zannah said as she grabbed said dust from a drawer. "To shroud my clothes, the black of night."

Zannah put in the mummy dust and added a pitch black liquid that easily became the dominant color.

"To age my voice, an old hag's cackle." Zannah said as she turned on a burner underneath a phial that held a red liquid. After it had been turned on, a bit of the red liquid shot up and laughed like an old crone and entered the goblet Zannah had put the potion into. This turned the potion red.

"To whiten my hair, a scream of fright!" Zannah turned the knob on a faucet, and a white substance poured out as a scream echoed throughout the chamber, and the potion was now a venomous green.

"A blast of wind to fan my age!" As Zannah held the goblet to the window and wind suddenly blew through it, and over the goblet. "And a thunderbolt to mix it well!"

As if on cue, a thunderbolt sounded as the potion rippled and bubbled.

"Now…" Zannah said calmly. "Begin thy magic spell."

Zannah then consumed the concoction and gasped. The room appeared to be spinning, she saw her hair flying around her face and glimpsed it turning white as salt.

"My hands!" Zannah called out as she looked at her hands and saw them become incredibly thin and claw-like. Her clothes also turned into a black musty cloak, and her very skin turned incredibly pale.

Zannah sighed, hoping for the seventy-two hours to pass quickly and heard her own sigh.

"My voice." She croaked. Her voice had become high and raspy. "My voice…"

Zannah laughed. The potion had worked. She looked into a mirror and saw an old hag with bulging green eyes and a long hook nose with a large wart on it.

"Yes!" Zannah called out. "A perfect disguise!"

Zannah turned to Cognus who backed into a wall.

"BY THE GHOST OF NADD!" Cognus called out.

"And now…" Zannah said as she pulled out a book on death potions. "A special sort of death for one so fair."

"AH!" She called out very soon. "A poisoned apple. Laced with the draught of the sleeping death."

"Huh?" Cognus asked.

"'One taste of the poisoned apple, and the victim's eyes will close forever in the sleeping death…'" Zannah said as she looked up and smirked wickedly. The Ancient Sith Lady Darth Nox had nothing on her.


	7. Someday My Prince Will Come

Chapter Seven: Someday My Prince Will Come

That night, after dinner, which even Anakin had to admit was delicious, the kids showed Nomi what they did after coming home from mines, have fun. They each played an instrument they did best with and simply sung nonsense, with Anakin playing the organ that Nomi saw earlier.

A'Sharad then walked up and smiled.

" _I like to dance and tap my feat, but they won't keep in rhythm_." He sang. " _You see I washed them both today, and can't do a thing with them._ "

Everyone then chuckled at the joke and sang out,

 _Oh hum,da-doo-lee-dum!_

 _The words don't mean a thing!_

 _Isn't this a silly song for anyone to sing?_

Ezra then used several pots and pans as drums and did a nice trick where he pounded on the drums before hitting a cymbal with a twirl of the stick. Kanan then stood up.

"I…" He began. "Uh…"

Anakin then blew a loud note, and that snapped Kanan to the alert.

" _I chased a pole cat up a tree._ " Kanan said. " _Way out upon a limb, and when he got the best of me, I got the worst of him._ "

 _Oh hum, da-doo-lee-dum!_

 _The words don't mean a thing!_

 _Isn't this a silly song for anyone to sing?_

As the music continued, Ahsoka was pestered by that fly again.

"Hey, go away!" She said.

The fly then bothered Ezra who ended up quickening the beat in his effort to get the fly. He only ended up panting as the fly landed on Ahsoka's nose. She then made to swat it as Ezra gave her a cymbal, but she only succeeded in giving herself a big headache.

"Why you…" Ahsoka said angrily, and Ezra ended up with a very bad wedgie.

Nomi then danced with each of the kids, except Anakin in turn.

Ezra then got on top of Obi-Wan with a long cloak.

"Hey watch it!" Obi-Wan said. "Don't tickle my nose!"

Ezra made sure to keep his feat still as he put the cloak over the two, with Ezra as the arms and legs and Obi-Wan as the legs. They then walked up to Nomi, and she danced around a little, with Ezra only nearly falling off once before he was pulled back up by Obi-Wan.

The dance went on and everyone had a great time until they heard a sneeze building up from underneath Ezra's feat.

"Uh-oh." Ezra said.

"Duck and cover!" Anakin called out, and everyone hid behind the organ.

"Mommy." Ezra squeaked as Obi-Wan sneezed, and Ezra flew up into the ceiling and dropped down, using the Force to break his fall.

Everyone laughed, and Nomi sat down.

"That was fun." Nomi said with a smile.

"Now it's your turn to do something." A'Sharad said.

"What should I do?" Nomi asked.

"Tell us a story." Ahsoka said.

"Yes, tell us a story!" The others called out.

"A true story!" Kanan said.

"A love story!" A'Sharad said.

"Well…" Nomi said before she remembered the day she met Robin. "Once there was a princess."

"Was the princess you?" Qui-Gon asked.

"And she fell in love." Nomi said with a nod.

"Was it hard to do?" Obi-Wan asked.

"It was very easy." Nomi said with a laugh. "Anyone could see that the prince was charming. The only one for me."

"Was he strong and handsome?" Qui-Gon asked puffing out his chest.

"Was he big and tall?" Obi-Wan asked as he flew up.

"There's nobody like him anywhere at all." Nomi said dreamily.

"Did he say he loved you?" Kanan asked.

"Did he steal a kiss?" A'Sharad asked.

" _He was so romantic, I could not resist._ " Nomi sang out.

Everyone except Anakin then sat down as Anakin leaned against a corner.

 _Someday, my prince will come._

 _Someday, we'll meet again._

 _And away to his castle we'll go,_

 _To be happy forever, I know._

"Hmph." Anakin muttered. "Mush."

A'Sharad then managed to pull herself away from the story and pulled Anakin over to Nomi.

 _Someday when spring is here,_

 _We'll find our love anew._

Ahsoka was beginning to fall to sleep, just as if she was listening to a lullaby, even though she tried to resist it.

 _And the birds will sing,_

 _And wedding bells will ring,_

 _Someday when my dreams come true…_

Everyone then sighed as a clock began to chime eleven.

"Oh look at the time." Nomi said. "It must be way past all of our bedtimes."

"But I'm not sleepy…" Ahsoka said as she yawned.

"Oh yes you are." Nomi said as she picked Ahsoka up.

"No I'm not." Ahsoka said as she made another yawn.

"Now, all of you, go to your room." Nomi said kindly.

"Wait a second." Qui-Gon said. "We can pretty much sleep anywhere. The princess will sleep in our room tonight."

"But where will you be sleeping?" Nomi asked.

"Oh, we'll be fine down here." Qui-Gon said.

"In a pig's eye." Anakin muttered.

"Hey, stop that!" Qui-Gon said. "Don't worry. We'll be comfortable down here. Won't we, guys?"

"Oh yeah." They all said as Ezra grabbed a pillow and prepared to go to sleep on a bench.

"Don't worry about us." A'Sharad said. "We'll be alright."

"Go right on up." Qui-Gon said.

"Well…" Nomi said. "If you insist. Good night."

"Good night princess." The children said.

"Are you sure you'll be comfortable?" Nomi.

"We'll be fine." Obi-Wan said.

"Well, have pleasant dreams then." Nomi said as she went inside.

Once Nomi closed the door, they all headed for the pillow.

Unfortunately, it ended up ripping because everyone had dived at it. Ezra shrugged and went to sleep on the bench.

()()()()()

In the children's room, Nomi was saying her evening prayers.

"Bless Canderous Ordo for saving my life, and please help my sister overcome her anger." Nomi prayed. "Bless the seven little children who have been so kind to me, and may all my dreams come true. Also, please help Anakin find it in her heart to like me. Amen."

Nomi then went to sleep on the same three beds she had taken her nap in.

()()()()()

"Adults!" Anakin said as he tried to get himself comfortable in the pot that Nomi's soup had been before he felt something poking in his back and pulled out the ladle. "This has been a fine kettle of fish."

He tossed the ladle onto the floor and began to go to sleep.

Kanan was sleeping near a drawer. A'Sharad was sleeping on top of the drawer. Qui-Gon was sleeping in the sink, getting a small drop of water in her mouth too. Obi-Wan was sleeping on top of Ezra, but he woke up when Ezra was whimpering like a dog he before Obi-Wan poked him in the hind leg, and he went back to sleeping peacefully.

Anakin went back to sleep as he was used to their snores by now, but the only thing he wasn't used to was someone whimpering, and Ahsoka did just that. She was fretting like a toddler as she squirmed in bed. Anakin easily knew what had happened. Ahsoka's stuffed rabbit, Bunny, was upstairs in the bed room. Normally, if Ahsoka didn't have Bunny, Anakin or A'Sharad would go and get it for her, but A'Sharad was out like a light, and Anakin didn't feel like looking for a stuffed rabbit up in the bed room with Nomi there, so he just got out of the pot, walked up to Ezra and took his outer shirt. Anakin then rolled Ezra's shirt up and put it in Ahsoka's arms, as she slept contentedly while Ahsoka petted Ezra's shirt.

Finally with some variation of peace and quiet by now, Anakin hopped back into the pot and fell asleep.

()()()()()

Meanwhile, the old hag that would be Zannah for the next few days dipped an apple into a potion she had spent several hours making.

"Dip the apple in the brew." Zannah chanted. "Let the sleeping death seep through."

She then picked the apple up, and it had turned black with the green potion clinging to it dripped away until it made a skull image.

"Yes!" Zannah said wickedly. "Under skin, a symbol of what lies within. Now turn red to tempt Nomi and make her hunger for thee."

Zannah then smirked and looked at the now beautifully red apple in her hand, sort of an opposite of her. Something ugly disguised as something delicious.

Zannah chuckled and got a mischievous look on her artificially aged face.

"Have a bit, sweetie!" Zannah said as she shoved the apple into Cognus' face.

"BWAH!" Cognus said as he backed away.

"Oh, you know it's not for you." Zannah said as she tickled Cognus' chin with her claw like finger. "It's for Nomi. When she breaks the tender skin to taste this apple, her breast will still, her blood congeal, and I'll be the fairest in the land!"

"As soon as that disguise wears off." Cognus said before Zannah starred him down.

"Wait a minute." Zannah said as a sudden thought crossed her mind. "There may be an antidote. Nothing can be over-looked!"

Zannah looked at her book again and found what she was looking for.

"Here it is!" Zannah said. "'The victim of the sleeping death can be revived only by love's first kiss.' 'Love's first kiss'? Zannah said with a sneer before closing the book. "No fear of that. Those brats will think she's just dead. She'll end up buried alive!"

She then walked down a secret stairway.

"By the ghost of Nadd, what's that girl's problem?!" Cognus asked as the door closed.

()()()()()

Zannah then made her way to a secret ship as she looked at a long dead captive of the dungeon that appeared to be reaching for water.

"Thirsty?" Zannah asked the skeleton that was left of the prisoner. "Have a drink!"

Zannah then kicked the jug, and the skeleton smashed to pieces. She then got onto the ship and rested as she thought about what she would do once Nomi was out of the way. Maybe she'd seduce that little beau Nomi met just to spite her soon to be buried alive step-daughter.

In a few days, Zannah landed on Earth and saw the ruined husk of the boar Canderous Ordo had killed to trick Zannah. She'd deal with the Mandalorian and his family after this. She only had about five hours left before the disguise wore off, and she knew Nomi would never _accept_ an apple from _her_.

* * *

Aw… Anakin has a heart.

Anakin: Shut up!


	8. The Wishing Apple

Chapter Eight: The Wishing Apple

A few days later, the kids left to dig up more diamonds. The last couple of days had been very nice and peaceful. Anakin had consented to teaching Nomi how to play the organ, A'Sharad had finally managed to get over his hay fever and regain control over himself, and Ahsoka had become much more open to Nomi.

Today, they all prepared to leave as they needed some more diamonds for money.

"Now don't forget Nomi," Qui-Gon had said. "Zannah's sly and full of witchcraft, so beware of strangers."

"Don't worry." Nomi said with a smile. "I'll be alright."

Nomi then kissed Qui-Gon on the head.

"See you tonight, and remember to wash up before dinner." Nomi said.

"Uh… Yes…" Qui-Gon gasped with a nervous smile. "Come on, guys."

"I hope you'll be really careful." Kanan said. "Why if anything happened-"

Nomi then kissed him on the head, and he blushed so much, you'd think he had more blood than he actually did.

"Good-bye." Nomi said cheerfully.

"Ah, gee!" Kanan said as he walked off.

"That is disgusting." Anakin muttered from the back of the line.

"And be sure to watch out." A'Sharad said as he left, and Nomi kissed him. "Thank you."

Ezra later came up and tugged on Nomi's cloak as he puckered up. Nomi smiled kindly, gently bent Ezra's head down, and kissed him. He then left and came back just a few moments later.

"Oh alright." Nomi said with a chuckle as she kissed him on the head. "But that's the last-"

Ezra then ran off like a cheetah and came back as one too, except as a cub.

"Oh, run along." Nomi said with a chuckle, and Ezra went off.

"Bye." Ahsoka said as she was holding _The Magician's Nephew_ in her hand. "Now remember, you promised we could talk about this book when we get home."

"Yes, I remember." Nomi said before kissing Ahsoka on the cheek and she walked off.

Anakin pulled up some stray bangs before heading to the door.

Obi-Wan then received a kiss on the cheek and walked off as she helped Ahsoka along.

 _Heigh-ho. Heigh-ho._

 _It's off to work we go._

Anakin then coughed to let Nomi know he was there.

"Now I'm warning you." Anakin said as he fidgeted around. "Don't let anyone or _anything_ in this house unless you know them like the back of your hand."

"Why Anakin," Nomi said with a smile. "You do care."

Nomi then kissed Anakin on the forehead, and he walked off before he stopped and smiled a little. It was just like what his mom had done before she passed away. He shook his head and walked off.

()()()()()

Zannah walked slowly to the cottage as she chuckled to herself. Only an hour left, and Nomi was an easy five minutes' walk away.

"Those little brats won't be at home." Zannah chuckled evilly. "And she'll be on her own. With a harmless old peddler woman." She chuckled again. "A _harmless_ old peasant woman."

()()()()()

Nomi decided to use this time to make some goose-berry pies for the children as a surprise and began making the last one after putting the other six on the table.

 _Someday my prince will come._

 _Someday we'll meet again._

 _And away to his castle we'll go._

 _To be happy forever I know._

She then placed the top of the pie on the last one and cut off the excess with a small knife. After that, she put the crust she cut off and put it on top of the pie, so that it spelled, "Anakin".

 _Someday, when Spring is near,_

 _We'll find our love anew,_

 _And the birds will sing,_

 _And wedding bells will ring._

 _Someday, when my dreams come true…_

Nomi then looked up and gasped as she saw an old woman with a long hooked nose, greasy white hair, and bulging green eyes. Out of her black cloak, Nomi saw two hands that were so skinny that they looked more like claws.

"All alone my dear?" The old woman asked in a high raspy voice that seemed slightly familiar to Nomi.

"Uh…" Nomi said nervously. "Well yes I am."

"What?" The woman said in surprise. "But you're only a girl, you can't be older than sixteen. Aren't either of your parents or any little brothers or sisters around?"

"Well, my parents died when I was still a little girl." Nomi said. "But the children are away for a little while."

"Hmm…" The old woman said. "Making pies?"

"Yes, goose-berry." Nomi said. "They're the children's favorite."

"Then they haven't tried apple pies." Zannah said with a smile. "They can make any little child's mouth water. Made from nice apples, like these."

The old woman picked up an apple that was so beautifully red that Nomi couldn't help staring at it.

"They look delicious." Nomi said.

"Yes, but wait until you taste it." The old woman said sweetly. "Would you like to try one? Go on… Go on and have a bite."

Before Nomi could grab the apple, the birds began attacking the poor old woman.

"Hey, you leave her alone!" Nomi said as she threw a flare of Ezra's into the air to frighten them off. "You should be ashamed of yourselves for attacking a poor old helpless lady like that!"

The woman made sure the apple was still alright, and Nomi put her arms on her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" Nomi asked.

"Oh, my heart!" The woman said as she clutched her chest. "My poor heart. Get me into the house and give me a drink of water."

"Oh, of course." Nomi said as she helped the old woman inside.

()()()()()

The animals looked into the window and saw Nomi go off to get the old hag some water. They could tell that something wasn't quite right about her, and they saw her look at the apple and then at Nomi, and they knew something terrible would happen if she ate it. They then ran off towards a diamond mine where they knew the children were.

()()()()()

The children arrived at the mine and were about to get to work. They began to push a small track car full of any digging equipment they'd need, and Ezra accidentally shoved Ahsoka inside.

"Ouch!" Ahsoka said.

"Sorry." Ezra said meekly.

Suddenly, several animals arrived and began pulling at their clothes and hair like there was no tomorrow.

"Get out of here!" Anakin said as she swatted some birds away.

"Hey, let go!" Ezra shouted as several birds were beginning to pull him away.

"What's going on here?!" Qui-Gon shouted as a doe was shoving Qui-Gon away from the mine.

"They've gone crazy!" Kanan called out.

"No kidding." A'Sharad said as he knocked away the birds and squirrels that were pulling on his sleeves and feet, but they came right back.

()()()()()

Nomi had given the lady a drink of water, and she smiled kindly like a grandmother… Or at least how Nomi imagined grandmothers smiled as she never saw one.

"And because you've been so good to dear old Granny," the lady said kindly. "I'll let you in on a secret. This is no ordinary apple. It's a magic wishing apple."

"A wishing apple?" Nomi asked in awe.

"Yes." The lady said. "One bite, and all your dreams come true."

"Really?" Nomi asked as she thought of Andur and how she could finally be with him.

"Yes dearie." The lady said. "Now make a wish and take a bite."

()()()()()

"Hey go away!" Obi-Wan shouted as a dear was holding him in his antlers and shoving him forward. "What's wrong with them?!"

"I don't know, but they're not acting like this for nothing." Anakin said as he shoved away several birds that nearly pulled his robe off.

"Uh-oh." Ahsoka said as she finally managed to get herself out of the car. "What is that mean queen, Zannah's got Nomi?"

"Zannah?!" They all called out in alarm. "Nomi!"

"Zannah will kill her!" Anakin called out in alarm. "We've gotta save her!"

"Yeah, we've gotta save her!" Qui-Gon shouted.

"She'll kill her!" A'Sharad shouted.

"What do we do?!" Obi-Wan asked.

"We go back to the house and save her!" Anakin said, and A'Sharad, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Qui-Gon flew off as Anakin and Kanan rode on the stag and the doe while Ezra was forced to use a makeshift skateboard.

()()()()()

"There must be something your heart desires." The lady said. "Maybe someone you love?"

"Well, yes." Nomi said as she blushed.

"I thought so." The lady said with a laugh. "Old Granny knows a young girl's heart. Now take the apple dearie and make your wish."

"I wish…" Nomi began.

"That's it." The lady said. "Go on. Don't be afraid."

()()()()()

Getting to the cottage proved much more difficult than they thought, especially for the people who were flying as their outfits got on low hanging branches, and twice, Ezra nearly fell to his death when he ran into a large gorge, but managed to survive by using the Force to pull a vine to him and using it to swing the other side.

()()()()()

"And that he'll carry me away to his home, and we'll live happily ever after." Nomi said with a smile.

"Excellent wish my dear." Granny said. "Now take a bite."

()()()()()

The children hurried on as fast as they could.

()()()()()

"Don't let the wish grow cold." Zannah said as all _her_ dreams were about to come true.

Nomi bit into the apple, and she smiled for a minute before staggering and holding her head.

"Oh… I feel strange." Nomi said weakly.

"Her breath will still." Zannah said with a wicked smile as her fist began to become fuller and darker. "Her blood congeal."

Nomi fell to the ground asleep, but to all but the most observant, dead, and at that moment, the disguise wore off, and Zannah was her lovely self again.

"NOW I'LL BE FAIREST IN THE LAND!" Zannah called out with wicked glee.

* * *

Oh dear…


	9. Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

Chapter Nine: Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

Zannah walked out as a storm quickly started. She was still laughing to herself when she saw seven children in odd outfits coming this way.

"And of course, something has to happen to complicate things." Zannah said and she flew off to a place where she could have more room to fight and eventually landed at the peak of a mountain.

The children followed after her, and she put her hand by a boulder.

"Let's see how badly I can crush their Anakin." Zannah said with a smirk, and she pushed the boulder.

"Look out!" A boy with dark brown robes called out. As the boulder came at them, a tattooed boy in tan robes rushed up and smashed the boulder to pieces.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Zannah said as her eyes glowed yellow. She then flew up as a bolt of lightning broke the ledge she was standing on and illuminated her face. "You know, my ex-husband doesn't believe in spankings, but I'm more of a fan of physical punishments. They really drive the message home."

Zannah then fired a barrage of lightning bolts from her hand.

"Hide!" The boy in dark robes called out, and all seven children hid behind a wall.

"Come on out, kiddies." Zannah said with a smirk. "We're not playing hide-and-seek you know."

()()()()()

Anakin gathered everyone around.

"Okay, our only chance to stop her is to surround her." Anakin explained. "A'Sharad, you, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Ahsoka fly up, and cover her from behind."

"We'll use the Force to levitate us up for a dive bomb." A'Sharad said.

"Yeah, good idea." Anakin groaned.

"Got it!" Ahsoka said with a nod.

"Kanan, Ezra, and I attack from the front."

"Nice idea, Anakin." Qui-Gon said with a smile.

"Let's go." Obi-Wan said calmly, and they split up as the ground unit ran up and dodged Zannah's attacks while Kanan and Anakin attacked with a strong Force Wave. Zannah defended herself very well when the kids flew up, and A'Sharad tapped her shoulder.

"What?!" Zannah asked, and A'Sharad punched her in the face.

"How could you?!" Zannah cried out. "I'm a woman!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." A'Sharad said. "I…"

"A'Sharad, look out!" Anakin said as Kanan tied up Zannah's hands with a grappling line, and Obi-Wan pulled her crown over her eyes.

"Hey, I can't see!" Zannah said.

"That's the point." Anakin said.

"Wait, I sense something." A'Sharad said as he looked up before his eyes widen. "Move!"

They all dodged as they forgot to grab Zannah, and she was struck by lightning and fell into a ravine.

"We better see if she's okay." Qui-Gon said as they headed down.

()()()()()

Zannah found herself floating over the kids. She sneered and prepared to attack one of them with a bolt of mystical Dark Side energy, but nothing happened. She continued after them as they came across a body she couldn't make out.

"Oh…" The boy in light brown robes groaned. "No way she survived that."

"Yeah." The boy in dark robes said. "Let's get home."

"You're not going anywhere!" Zannah called out as she tried to stand in front them, but they all walked through her. She got confused and walked over to the body, and to her horror, she found her own body, burnt and scared by the lightning and unmistakably dead. Zannah then realized what had happened. Whether by an instinctive attempt to lash out at the children or some cruel twist of fate chosen long before today, she had been trapped in limbo. For the rest of her days, she'd wander the world as a disembodied spirit, and she screamed. A horrible scream that no one ever heard.

* * *

Yeah… I got the idea from what happened to Darth Tenebrous in Star Wars.


End file.
